How to Be Still in the Heart of a Raging Inferno

Years ago, I was teaching a Reiki class on the 16th floor of a tower block in Zamalek, Cairo.

Toward the end of the second day, smoke started rising up the outside of the building. At first, we dismissed it. But it started to thicken quickly. We went to the window and saw the building was on fire.

We opened the apartment door and were met with a wall of sulphurous smoke. No alarms. Just smoke and silence.

We sealed the door with wet towels. But the smoke was still finding its way in. The concrete walls were heating up and I could feel the anxiety in the room rising. Some of my Reiki students were beginning to panic.

I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t know how we’d get out. But I stayed calm, knowing deep down, and through energetic alignment that we were going to be okay. I just didn’t know how. I held the space, not with strategy, but with presence.

Eventually, we forced open the rooftop door and got out. From the neighbouring building, two men saw us. They broke a fire escape ladder off its moorings and extended it across the rooftop gap.

We had to crawl, one by one, across that narrow, and very unstable, metal ladder, sixteen floors above the concrete, to the other side. It was terrifying. But we all made it.

And then, on 26th July Street in Zamalek, in the middle of Cairo’s street life and traffic, I finished the class. We handed out certificates sitting on street corners and café walls. That’s us in the picture with this week’s newsletter.

That experience taught me something Reiki can’t be reduced to in words:

Presence. Intuition. Emotional steadiness. Resilience. Quiet leadership.
These aren’t concepts. They’re states of being. And when it counts, they’re everything.

Deadline Extended: Reiki & Buddho Competition

The deadline to enter the Reiki & Buddho Competition 2025 has been extended to 21st March due to technical issues with the landing page, and the winner will be announced on 22nd March.

This isn’t just a prize draw. It’s a chance to win full training in Reiki and Buddho worth over £1,200, and to experience first-hand the personal development that comes with it. If you’re not sure what Buddho is, then check out the Buddho page on my website where it explains in detail how the practice led to modern secular Reiki.

Training like this doesn’t just teach techniques. It teaches how to become:

• A centre of calm when others are losing their way

• Resilient under pressure

• Deeply intuitive when logic isn’t enough

• Grounded, present, and quietly authoritative

• Able to hold space, for others and for yourself

Whether you're a complete beginner or looking to deepen your journey, this is a rare opportunity. You’re not going to find training like this anywhere else in the world.

Enter the competition here: The Ultimate Reiki & Buddho Training Package

How to Be Seen at Work When You’re Doing Everything Right

That day on the rooftop in Cairo showed me something I’ve seen again and again since.
When things fall apart, people don’t follow titles. They follow presence.

But in everyday life, presence can feel like a mystery. Especially when you’re doing everything right, working hard, showing up, being competent, and still not being recognised.

If you feel invisible, underestimated, or like people don’t listen to you no matter how capable you are, this blog is for you.

It explores how to build the kind of presence that doesn’t need to push. It helps you understand why presence starts from the inside, and how practices like Reiki and Metta meditation strengthen the quiet inner authority that others naturally respond to.

This is the same work you’ll begin to embody through the competition training and that will soon be built on in The Power Within programme.

Read the full blog here: The Energy of Success: How to Shift from Force to Flow

Upcoming Events: Learn to Be the Calm in the Fire

This isn’t just training. It’s transformation.

If you want to become the person others turn to, not because you’re loud, but because you’re steady, these courses are your next steps:

📅 Reiki Level 1 – 21st & 22nd March
📅 Buddho Level 1 – 4th & 5th April
📅 Reiki Level 2 – 18th & 19th April

These courses will help you develop:

• The resilience to stay grounded under pressure

• The intuition to act without overthinking

• The presence to be taken seriously without trying to prove yourself

Book your place by going to the courses page of my website.

All the best,

Steve